Final roster prediction

by SuperFan82 on Jul 20, 2008 9:46 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

Here's my last version of how I see the Bills roster breaking down as the team gets ready for September 7th. Obviously, plenty can and will happen over the next 7 weeks, but looking at the roster this way allows for a decent view of where we can expect the suddenly chic Buffalo Bills to excel (DBs) and struggle (WR/TE) on the field this September...Call me crazy, but the perpetual 7-9 prediction is inching closer to 8-8 every passing day. Before I change it though, I'll need to see Edwards actually do well in camp so that I can confirm that this era of good feelings is based on something more substantial than the fact that camp is less than a week away and that the world of sports has me giddy right now due to the tenacious St. Louis Cardinals' current five game winning streak...With my $348 check for the NFL Sunday ticket and NFL Superfan packages already in the mail, here's how I see the 2008 Buffalo Bills:

Trent Edwards

JP Losman

Marshawn Lynch

Fred Jackson

Dwayne Wright

Darian Barnes

Lee Evans

James Hardy

Josh Reed

Roscoe Parrish

Steve Johnson

Justin Jenkins

Robert Royal

Derek Schouman

Derek Fine

Jason Peters

Langston Walker

Kirk Chambers

Matt Murphy

Derrick Dockery

Brad Butler

Jason Whittle

Duke Preston

Melvin Fowler

Aaron Schobel

Chris Kelsay

Ryan Denney

Chris Ellis

Marcus Stroud

John McCargo

Kyle Williams

Spencer Johnson

Jason Jefferson

Angelo Crowell

Kawika Mitchell

Keith Ellison

Alvin Bowen

Paul Posluszny

John DiGiorgio

Terrence McGee

Leodis McKelvin

William James

Jabari Greer

Ashton Youboty

Reggie Corner

Donte Whitner

Ko Simpson

Bryan Scott

George Wilson

John Wendling

Rian Lindell

Brian Moorman

Ryan Neill

Practice Squad

Matt Baker- QB

Xavier Omon- RB

Jason Jones- WR

Tim Massaquoi- TE

Demetrius Bell- OT

Nevin McCaskill- C

Corey Mace- DE

Jon Banks- MLB

This FanPost was written by a registered user of Buffalo Rumblings. Its views do not necessarily reflect the views of Rumblings' editorial staff, but are just as valued as our own.

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9 offensive linemen?

The team kept only 7 on the roster last season. My guess would be for 8.

by Ron From NM on Jul 20, 2008 10:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

OL

They broke camp with 9 in ‘06. Keeping just 8 last year was actually lighter than most years. 9 is usually the norm and Levy often kept 10. By the end of last season, Buffalo had 9:

Peters
Walker
Chambers
Estes
Dockery
Butler
Preston
Fowler
Gaddis

...I think 8’s the minimum and if they have a guy they think is worth developing (Bell or Murphy?), they’ll keep 9.

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 20, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would

replace Jason Jefferson with Courtney Anderson and would keep a DT on the PS. Also, I’d imagine Gaddis and Cox would be prime candidates for the PS.

I’d have to believe Matt Murphy is the final man on your roster. I could go either way with a 9th OL…

by Kurupt on Jul 21, 2008 11:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Kurupt

you must have read my mind…good post.

Get the Bills back to the big game!

by Blitz on Jul 21, 2008 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think this is a fairly solid list, w/a few exceptions...

Not sure about keeping 6 WRs. I know they seem to like Johnson, but can he play STs as good as Jenkins did last year?

Also, I think Courtney Anderson will be a keeper. If Royal doesn’t come back completely healthy, they don’t have any real size at TE. Sure, Murphy could fill in, but I think they want him to focus on learning the line.

If Youboty were to be traded, I could see them giving a spot to Blake Costanzo as a STer. I don’t think you need 6 CBs, especially if you’re keeping 5 safeties.

I think Jefferson will make the squad. Maybe not so much as a DT, but his original spot, DE.

What the hell is going on with Chris Ellis? From the Buff News today:

“Fewell would like to see rookie Chris Ellis emerge as the fourth end, but the third-round draft pick has to show more than he did in the OTAs and minicamp. Johnson’s ability to play end gives the Bills some flexibility. Copeland Bryan and Shaun Nua will fight for the fifth end spot, assuming Buffalo keeps that many.

"We’ve got to poke Chris Ellis a little bit to get him rolling," Fewell said. "If we can get Chris Ellis rolling, we’ll have what we want depth-wise."

I knew we didn’t hear much from him during OTAs and minicamp. But is this saying a rookie needs to be “poked” to get him moving? That’s ridiculous. Does Ellis think he’s Bruce already? Is this an indication of the character issues they spoke of about him prior to the draft?

by krytime on Jul 21, 2008 11:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Youboty trade

How about Youboty to Cleveland for Steve Heiden? If Buffalo gets through training camp healthy at CB, and Martin Rucker is impressive in Cleveland, I could see that trade making some sense. Heiden is not much better than Royal, but he could be a decent stop gap type until Derek Fine is full-go. Schonert did not sound very enthusiastic about the Bills TEs in an article the Buffalo News this weekend (I’m glad he’s actually sort of admitting that the current personnel at TE is a reach).

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 21, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why trade Youboty?

Nobody knows what Corner can do. Plus, we’ve already seen how injuries can drastically alter a team’s depth at a certain position (Redskins DE), so why not keep it as deep as possible for as long as possible?

by Kurupt on Jul 21, 2008 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed, but...

IF Corner is legitimate and IF Buffalo makes it to the opener healthy in the defensive backfield, I’d be interested in trading the 5th CB for help at TE. Robert Royal is not starting material in the NFL even when healthy (and there’s no guarantee he’s going to be healthy in 2008), and I feel like the position wasn’t properly addressed this offseason. I agree that given the fact that we got down to playing CBs signed off the street last year that there’s no need to rush trading Youboty. But keeping 6 CBs may prove excessive, so IF Corner looks good and the top 4 guys stay healthy, I’d back moving Youboty for some help at TE.

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 21, 2008 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Understandable

I’d have to agree there, but only if Corner proves he is capable of playing right away, if it is necessary. I’d hate to have a repeat of last year’s CB situation, so hanging onto him as long as possible is necessary.

I don’t think Steve Heiden would do much to help us. Isn’t he just another backup TE along the same lines as Royal, Anderson, etc???

by Kurupt on Jul 21, 2008 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hard to say

Ah, nice article - Schonert definitely had some good stuff to say. I noticed he didn’t seem too positive about Dwayne Wright:

"There’s competition there between Dwayne and the two young guys," said Schonert, referring to Omon and rookie Bruce Hall. "Dwayne has to elevate his game if he wants to stay in this league. He’s got talent. He did some good things in the spring, and I was encouraged by it. But he’s got to keep going forward."

Ouch. I doubt many people think Omon will push Wright off the roster altogether, but it sounds like it’s a possibility…

by Krenn on Jul 21, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but

we’ve heard good things about Wright from other sources, I think Jauron may have been one…I think Schonert was talking more about improving on his performances from last season….

by Kurupt on Jul 21, 2008 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

2 QBs

I love keeping only 2 QBs, and Buffalo did that on-and-off, but I think 3 will be kept this year - having 2 QBs is a scary scenario during a game whenever the starting QB gets injured. I like 9 OL and 3 TE, so I think we have to either reduce one by keeping only 8 DL or 10 DBs from your list - I think 11 DBs are too many, anyway (I really don’t know why people want only 8 OL for 5 starting positions and yet want 11 DBs for 4/5 starting positions). Hate to do it, but I would either trade Youbouty or cut Wendling.

by labill on Jul 21, 2008 2:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Off topic, but are you in St. Louis or just a Cards fan? I live in St. Louis (go to SLU), and would like to have a friendly Buffalo BIlls fan around seeing as all I really get is ridicule every time I mention I am a Bills fan.

by pozzed51 on Jul 21, 2008 7:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nah…2nd generation Cardinals fan from Philly. My Dad became a huge Cardinals fan when he was a little kid in the Gibson/Boyer/Brock ‘60’s. I took him out to Busch II for Father’s Day the last year it was around, and we’ll get out to the new park in the next few years. I had planned on waiting for the Ballpark Village project to be finished before heading out there, but that sounds like it’s never going to be completed…I’ve always taken a lot of crap for being a Bills fan too- Eagles fans are a joke. I hope they go another 25 years (w/ 4 teams that’s 100 seasons!) without a title in Philly.

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 21, 2008 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

2006 is still too fresh in my memory, As a Mets fan I am forced to hate you. But I guess only a little.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Jul 22, 2008 8:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then I hate to tell you this because I was at all 3 games of the NLCS in St. Louis, and at Game 5 of the World Series (We did not have tickets but they opened the gates during the 8th inning and my friends and I went in. It was pretty awesome.) The snow cone catch was ridiculous though…

by pozzed51 on Jul 22, 2008 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If only Endy could hit as well as he plays defense.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Jul 22, 2008 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Game 7

Homerun throw-forward was the only time I ever felt worse in my life (while watching a game) than when Chavez stole that homer from Rolen…I did, however, end up naming my fantasy baseball team “Wainwright K’s Beltran” in honor of that game and I watch the DVD of the Fox broadcast of it more than once a month…at least following every team doesn’t just boil down to nothing more than 20 years of mind numbing torture…

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 22, 2008 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs